45-minute focus block for design work — birds at dawn, when you feel restless rather than tired

1 Before you start

• Write down the one thing you are going to do, in a single sentence, before you start.
• Accept that the first five minutes will feel like wading. Wading counts.
• Close every tab that is not needed for this one task. Not minimised — closed.
• Give yourself permission to stop when the timer ends, even mid-sentence.
• Have a piece of paper beside you for the thoughts that will try to interrupt.

2 While the timer runs

• If your attention keeps sliding, shorten the next block rather than abandoning this one.
• When you get an idea for something else, park it. Do not follow it.
• Notice whether you are working or performing work. They look similar from the outside.
• The first urge to stop usually arrives early. Sit through it once and the second one is quieter.

3 When it ends

• Note what you actually got done, not what you meant to get done.
• Decide whether the next block is the same task or a different one. Do not drift into it.
• Look out of a window for thirty seconds. Your eyes have been at one distance for a while.

4What to put on

birds at dawn — Bright but not sharp. Better for early sessions than for late ones.